Safety can-opener.



1). H. COLES.

SAFETY CAN OPENER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.19, 1914.

Patented May 12, 1914.

DAVID E. COLES, 0F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

SAFETY CAN-OPENER.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patent- 1 1 ay 12 1914 Application filed January 19, 1914. Serial No. 812,865.

is likely to result. An integral neck connects the support for the cutter proper with the rest of the handle whereby the protective shield is somewhat away from the cutter. The cutter support itself is provided with gripping ribs and a side guide as required.

In order to render the invention entirely clear, reference is had to the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 represents a safety can'opener embodying in desirable form the present im- 1 b all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, DAVID H. Cones, a citizen of the United States of America, ant a resident of Brooklyn, county of Kings, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety Can-Openers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has reference to improvements in can-openers and pertains particularly to safety can-openers which are designed and constructed for the purpose provements and held by a hand ready for of protecting the hand, the fingers and esoperation. Fig. 2 illustrates the opener in pecially the knuckles or joints of the fingers top plan view. Fig. 3 is a cross-section on located between the metacarpal bone and the line tit-59 of Fig. 1.

Similar characters of reference denote like parts in all the figures.

In the drawing, (t represents the handle which preferably has an elongated slot a in the rear portion to avoid excessive weight. \Vhile the lower portion a of the handle is rounded off the top portion forms a ridge (0 extending from the inner end of the clon gated slot and constitutes a border line of the thumb rest b located at the top side portion of the opener when the same is operated. The thumb rest is suitably hollowed out, as shown. Integral with the handle and the thumb rest there is a shield c which extends downwardly and to the right of the opener when the same is operated. The shield c first phalanx against injury.

The cans opened by means of instruments usually are the so-called soldered tin cans and any scratch or wound resulting during the opening of the same may cause blood poisoning. For this reason it is advisable to provide safety devices on can-openers.

It is the special purpose of the present invention to produce can-openers with devices thereon which render their use perfectly safe.

For the purpose of reducing the cost of production the safety devices of the present can-openers form integral parts of the same and the whole opener, with the exception of the cutting device, is produced in one operation. These integral safety devices comfurther extends somewhat. rearwardly and is prise essentially a curved shield extending slightly curved for the purpose of forming a from the handle downwardly and forming a convenient rest for the index inger as shown 2. In Fig. 1 of the drawing hold by the hand ready for operation and both the thumb rest and the rest for the index finger below are clearly shown. The slight rearward inclination of the shield and its curve prevent any slipping of the index finger and conveniently fit any normal size of tiingcr.

As shown in Fig. 2, the handle is not at a right angle to the longitudinal center line of the opener but somewhat inclined toward the right when the opener is operated. This makes the grip of the handle very eonin Figs. 1 and rest for the index finger, while the other the opener is fingers grip the hanlle. On the left top portion of the shield a thumb rest is formed which gradually runs into the handle. The handle proper is formed in a peculiar relation to the protective shield and thumb rest, it being somewhat inclined. to the right. This peculiar arrangement and relation between the protective shield, thumb rest and handle has been devised for the purpose of compelling the operator to grip the canopener in the way in which it acts most protective. Some one attempting to grip this can-opener in a different manner woul not venicnt, while a handle at a right angle to be in a condition to open the can because it the horizontal center line of the opener would be inconvenient and the operative would inconvenience the hand.

arts would not be in proper position. iis From the upper portion of the shield adthumb rest and in line with the slightly curved integral support e porjoining the handle there is a neck (Z which extends into the cutter The cutter support comprises :1 W1

feature of the present can-opener is of great advantage because an unskilled person cannot use the ean-opener in a manner and in a position relative to the can in which injury 0.

tion e -which gradually narrows down at the front end. On the wide portion 6 of the cutter support 6 there is secured by screws or otherwise a. cutter f having a lower p0rtion 7 at nearly a right angle thereto and a cutting edge 7" slightly curved but almost parallel to the ribbed lower surface 6 of the cutter support. A longitudinal guide 6 extends somewhat beyond the ribbed bottom surface of the support.

The entire can-opener is made in one piece except the cutter which must be of harder material and therefore is made separately. The shield and thumb rest, being produced simultaneously with the opener, do not in crease the cost although they represent protective devices of great advantage. As previously stated, there exists a certain relation etween the various protective parts and the handle. The shield ext-ends downwardly having its principal portion to the right, it is slightly curved and slightly inclined toward the handle to form a convenient rest for the index finger, the thumb slightly inclined to the left, and the handle slightly inclined toward the right from the top ridge, therefore, the operator is com.- pelled to grip the opener in the proper manner and the inner edge a of the handle then rests preferably in the line formed by the end of the palm of the hand and the bases of the fingers. In order to conveniently locate preferably in the line between the end. of the palm and the bases of the fingers, the handle is also slightly curved in a downward direction, as is shown in Fig. l.

I claim as my invention:

1. A safety can-opener comprising essentially a handle, a downwardly curved shield having its main portion to the right, a thumb rest formed at the left top portion of the shield and handle, an integral neck extendhandle, a cutter support integral with said neck, and a cutter, said shield being slightly inclined toward the rest toward the left and the handle toward the right from the center line of the opener and slightly in a dOlvI1- ward direction.

In a safety can-opener, a handle, a downwardly curved shield having its main portion to the right, and a thumb rest formed at the left top portion of the shield and toward the handle, the thumb rest toward the left and the handle toward the right from the center line of the opener and slightly in a downward direction.

3.1n a safety can-opener, a handle, a downwardly curved shield having its main portion to the right and slightly inclined toward the handle to form a rest for the index finger, and a thumb rest formed at the left top portion of the shield and handle slightly inclined toward the left from the center line of the opener.

Signed at New York, N. Y., this 10th day l of January, 1914.

DAVID H. COLES. lVitnesses SIGMUND RUBIN, MARIE R. LEAHY.

handle, said shield being slightly inclined 

